#BookReview: Dread Nation (Dread Nation #1) by Justina Ireland with @RiseOfTheReader

About the Book:

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems. 

About the Author: Justina Ireland is the author of the teen novels Vengeance Bound and Promise of Shadows. She is also a powerful advocate for representation and inclusion for marginalized voices and can be found speaking on such topics at conferences and festivals around the country. She enjoys dark chocolate and dark humor and is not too proud to admit that she's still afraid of the dark. She lives with her husband, kid, and dog in Pennsylvania.

Reviewed By: Jessica P. 

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Recommended Age: Young Adult 

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction (Civil War, Zombies)
Goodreads | Amazon

My Review: I want to start this review out saying that I LOVED Ireland's other story A Promise of Shadows but this one just didn't work for me.  I found it very choppy and very boring.  Early on you have this white woman having a black baby with no explanation then this girl is now a teenager in this school learning to kill the dead again with no reason.  I mean did she eat too much chocolate while she was pregnant? This made this book very choppy for me. I would have liked more explanation on what was going on.  I remember the redone story of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and I have to say that they did a wonderful job with how they did the history of what was going on.  But this one Dread Nation did not. It failed to give us the reason for everything early on and for that, I was totally out of this one.  I tried to love it as I stated I liked the author's other story but this one was just boring.  The story just felt like it wasn't sure what it wanted to do and that again made this one a fail. I really wished that the author would have done something with this and would have given it a clear plot.

Do I Recommend this book? Nope, sorry guys this one is a total mess.

Go Into This One Knowing:  Zombies, Civil War
 

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Posted in: 2 Stars, Edelweiss, HarperCollins, Jessica P., Review, Young Adult